If you operate a call center that serves bilingual customers, agents should be fluent enough to not only communicate effectively with customers over the phone but also through e-mail or text chat.
To evaluate these skills in applicants, Employment Technologies (Winter Park, FL) offers its e.Skills Bilingual multimedia simulation software, which assesses candidates' abilities to respond to customers in both English and Spanish.
e.Skills Bilingual is a standalone product that candidates access from a PC. Depending on your business needs, the software consists of three optional sections that measure e-mail composition skills, data entry skills, plus keyboarding speed and accuracy in English and Spanish. The sections are timed and run about 15 minutes each.
In the simulations, applicants take on the role of an agent who serves customers of three hypothetical companies, including a cellular phone company, a credit card company and a gourmet food service company.
In the E-Mail Composition section, applicants receive e-mail messages from customers with questions or issues. After reading the customer's request, the candidate has to look up customer and product information to prepare an appropriate response. The software scores responses for grammar, spelling, organization, tone, completeness and accuracy.
During the Data Entry section, candidates listen to customers' calls. To process their requests, applicants enter information, including account numbers, addresses and credit card information. This section reviews the speed and accuracy with which applicants enter the data.
In a third section, Typing and Keyboard, candidates view written e-mail messages and retype the messages as quickly and as accurately as possible. The messages include alphabetical and numerical information.
Once applicants have finished the simulations, e.Skills gives you their scores in the form of success profiles, which you can view on screen, print or e-mail to others within your organization. Employment Technologies works with you to help you establish an appropriate benchmark for passing scores.
With the E-Mail Composition simulation, you view the e-mail composed by the applicant, along with a checklist of things to score the e-mail on.
e.Skills Bilingual costs $10 per applicant, no matter how many sections you purchase. A one-time site license fee is $1,000 per location, which lets you install the software on an unlimited number of workstations. The one-time site license fee for each additional location is $500. 800-833-3279, www.etc-easy.com
